There is no point in visiting a law school Forum

[OperaSoprano]

I can't imagine choosing a school without visiting. I mean, it would be just about 100% inconceivable to me, absent extreme personal hardship to commit to going somewhere I had not explored not just once, but at length. By the time I committed to my school, I knew enough about it that I could lead tours, and now that I'm a 1L, I get to do just that. This isn't just about sitting in some chairs, as others have said. It's about immersing yourself in the neighborhood where your school is located; taking the public transportation, eating at the cafes, drinking at the bars, shopping at the grocery stores. Maybe it is because I'm a girl, but I did want to be comfortable, and I am. There is something intangible in the air when a school is a good fit for you. I felt similarly about Northeastern, oddly enough, and I was thinking hard about going there before Fordham accepted me.

I was wondering how long it would take you to show up here.

and to mention that Fordham accepted you.

Your point being? Visiting can help waitlisted students, and I believe it was helpful to me. It gave me detailed material for my LOCIs, and cemented my desire to attend. The main issue, however, is that this decision should not be 100% based on $$$. Happiness is a large factor in performance, and will thus play into the value received from your law school investment.

[summerstar]

If you are choosing between Michigan and Virginia with equal cost, and you want NYC big law, why not choose based on the campus, they are peer schools and you are living there for three years.

Both campuses are beautiful

I'm thinking more and more VA, especially because I have family in D.C. Love Virginia.

[Kohinoor]

If you are choosing between Michigan and Virginia with equal cost, and you want NYC big law, why not choose based on the campus, they are peer schools and you are living there for three years.

Both campuses are beautiful

I'm thinking more and more VA, especially because I have family in D.C. Love Virginia.

UVA would be lucky to have you. You should definitely come here.

[Kohinoor]

I can't imagine choosing a school without visiting. I mean, it would be just about 100% inconceivable to me, absent extreme personal hardship to commit to going somewhere I had not explored not just once, but at length. By the time I committed to my school, I knew enough about it that I could lead tours, and now that I'm a 1L, I get to do just that. This isn't just about sitting in some chairs, as others have said. It's about immersing yourself in the neighborhood where your school is located; taking the public transportation, eating at the cafes, drinking at the bars, shopping at the grocery stores. Maybe it is because I'm a girl, but I did want to be comfortable, and I am. There is something intangible in the air when a school is a good fit for you. I felt similarly about Northeastern, oddly enough, and I was thinking hard about going there before Fordham accepted me.

I was wondering how long it would take you to show up here.

and to mention that Fordham accepted you.

Your point being? Visiting can help waitlisted students, and I believe it was helpful to me. It gave me detailed material for my LOCIs, and cemented my desire to attend. The main issue, however, is that this decision should not be 100% based on $$$. Happiness is a large factor in performance, and will thus play into the value received from your law school investment.

Without going into outage pwnage detail, one 1L here at UVA was on the waitlist, came to visit, bumped into a professor on the undergrad campus with shared interests, said professor went to bat for him and the 1L feels that's why he's here today.

[summerstar]

If you are choosing between Michigan and Virginia with equal cost, and you want NYC big law, why not choose based on the campus, they are peer schools and you are living there for three years.

Both campuses are beautiful

I'm thinking more and more VA, especially because I have family in D.C. Love Virginia.

UVA would be lucky to have you. You should definitely come here.

well, thank you Kermit. You are dreamy and so greeeen!

[ccs224]

I visited Yale (only b/c I was attending a wedding in CT) and ended up hooking up with an undergrad...it was kinda worth it

This may be the best campus visit story ever. It will inspire future generations to visit Yale regardless of their chances of admission.

Have you seen what kind of kids go to Yale?

[vanwinkle]

I visited Yale (only b/c I was attending a wedding in CT) and ended up hooking up with an undergrad...it was kinda worth it

This may be the best campus visit story ever. It will inspire future generations to visit Yale regardless of their chances of admission.

Have you seen what kind of kids go to Yale?

Young, attractive, affluent, and naive about how the world works? Yeah, I'd hit that.

[Cupidity]

i was sure id attend ASW before, but now im not as certain

i am 99% deadset on my school for a lot of reasons, including personal ones involving my SO

i am pretty adaptable, i guess you could say...i dont really mind the weather, the campus outlook, the city, etc. i mean, some are better than others (imo), but i make due regardless

now im starting to wonder if i should bother spending the money going to the ASW if im going to pick the school anyways..?

are there other factors important/significant about a school's ASW besides the "choosing it" part?

Making friends. Everyone on here seems so gunner, "Friends, QOL, psshhhh, I'll be studying". Find a nice atmosphere, it will make your precious little free time count.

[jayn3]

I visited Yale (only b/c I was attending a wedding in CT) and ended up hooking up with an undergrad...it was kinda worth it

This may be the best campus visit story ever. It will inspire future generations to visit Yale regardless of their chances of admission.

Have you seen what kind of kids go to Yale?

hahahahhahahahahahhaa i was wondering if anyone was going to bring that up

[j.wellington]

If your only concern is career advancement, then sure, you can make up your mind based on stats on the admissions web site. But if you consider that you're going to be living there for at least three years and likely beyond that, it makes complete sense to visit.

I do agree that the arranged campus visits are mostly worthless. I went on one earlier this fall and the guy basically read me bullet points out of an admissions pamphlet, then showed me what a library looks like. You're better off just exploring the school anonymously.

[Veyron]

I study much better in places with good architecture. I imagine that this will have an impact on my class rank and QOL.

[lawman335]

There is a point visiting a school , u will be able to see the school u r gonna join , the facilities they r offering and many other things........

[hsprophet]

Facilities are relatively important to me, but no it is not a huge factor. I DO believe, however, you may gain a certain "feeling" about a school by visiting. It could be the buildings, campus, students, faculty, whatever. SOMETHING is just giving you a good feeling about the school. Is this scientific? Obviously not. But doing well in law school is so important, and for me I excel when I am comfortable with my environment and surroundings, so if I immediately feel comfortable or at home at a school for whatever reason, that is definitely something to consider.

++1

I visited one school for their prospective students presentation/tour. I did not get a good "feel" and chose not to apply. Even though there were tons of people there, it was not very welcoming, and I didn't feel like I "fit in" well with the other students. I learned about other minor things, like the fact that parking is a huge issue, the neighborhood of the school, etc. Of course all this is subjective and not really important in the grand scheme of things, but I would rather choose a school that I had a good feeling about.

When I was choosing a graduate school, I ended up going to the school that I had a good "feel" about, which also was a good choice based on its objective credentials. The caring of the adminssions staff (they even took me out for a fancy dinner) was representative of how well the college treated the attending students.

[legallybound]

OP wasted a visit. It's not just touring the facilities, it's a chance to inter-personally ask questions regarding the curriculum, to sit in on classes, to talk to administrators and maybe even network for potential scholarships.

I have visited two schools thus far: one sent a student that showed me around the law school, the other sent an admissions rep, showed me the entire university, and introduced me to one of my potential 1L professors. He also gave me a list of places to have dinner that evening. This sort of thing means a lot to me.

And also to see if you like the students. Remember, you're going to live/eat/study with these people for three years.

[parker09]

What if I'm abroad and it'll cost me a $1600ish plane ticket to visit schools? (and only be able to hit two out of the three ASWs that I'd want to go to, though I could visit the other one on my own) (and only two will reimburse me, and only like $200 each)

After choosing my UG based on quantitative factors like prestige/$$$ and then spending college wondering if I could have been happier elsewhere, I really want to choose my law school based on more qualitative factors (whether i like the students and think i'll fit in, how much i like the library and think i could study there, proximity of places to other places, etc.)... but I don't know if I'll get an accurate sense from ASW. I feel like schools just put on a show for you, but then again, my UG's ASW was the only one I went to and I was lukewarm about it and ended up being lukewarm about the next four years, so...